Pakistan’s Port Qasim has awarded the contract for a new dry bulk terminal to China Harbour Works. The contract, worth US$130 million, stipulates that the terminal must be completed within two years.
The project, called Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, will require a total investment of US$250 million. It is to be a mechanised coal, clinker and cement terminal with dedicated storage facilities and the capacity to handle 12 million tpa of imported coal and the export of 5 million tpa of cement and 2 million tpa of clinker. In a second phase of construction, the coal handling capacity will be increased to 20 million t, as Pakistan’s demand for coal increases.
China Harbour Works will commence civil works next month. The same company currently runs Gwadar Port and is working on the Economic Corridor from Gwadar to western China.
Port Qasim is responsible for handling some 40% of Pakistan’s import and export trade.
Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui